I love decorating cakes for birthdays, I did this cake for our niece Jazmin who just turned 18, can’t believe it! I even put some raspberry filling in the center, and this cake was a white cake which I don’t normally do because I like chocolate, but it’s not about me, it was Jazmin’s birthday so she got to pick ;)

I really like how it turned out. Simple and elegant. I used a;

Butter Cream Frosting Recipe:

3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup softened butter
1 tsp pure vanilla (not the clear kind)
Dash of whipping cream (until you get the right consistency)
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

I spread the sides with a metal frosting spatula, smoothed it out so that the sides would have straight streaks it’s super easy you just have to practice. Did the same thing with the top just in longer strokes. For the dot boarder and the writing I used a size 5 circle tip, so easy and quick.

Here’s the beautiful birthday girl and her cake!!

Okay, first things first. I’m 27 weeks pregnant and have been wanting to try out my theory that cold brew coffee wouldn’t give me heartburn like hot brewed coffee does. A couple days ago my wonderful husband brought me home a bag of Fidalgo Bay’s Cold Brew Blend, and I set it up to brew over night in my little toddy maker, and yesterday I tested my theory. And guess what? I was right!! Cold brewed coffee has a much lower acidity level than hot brewed coffee, and for those of us who struggle with heartburn, it’s a much better option. So we can have our babies, and drink coffee too! ;) Plus, it’s just rich, and smooth, and maybe I need to make another cup….

Coconut Blended Coffee

1/3 cup Cold Brew Coffee
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 big handful of ice
1 Tbsp dark chocolate syrup

Directions:

Blend until smooth, and serve.

Some of you might remember my excited post about eating Paleo and heartburn during pregnancy? That was four weeks ago and I was just getting to the point in my pregnancy when I would gradually start to have more and more heartburn during the day, and then eventually I would wake up with it, and go to bed with it and there was pretty much nothing I could do to make it better. Remember, this is my 7th pregnancy, so it’s not like I haven’t tried everything!

Over the past four weeks I’ve been paying close attention to the foods/habits that cause me to have heartburn, for those who don’t know, I eat a grainfree, legume/carb-free, and mostly sugar-free diet. Here is a list of things that I have found cause me to have heartburn.

-Bread/pasta(more veggies, meat, and nuts!)
-Flour based foods, sauces (ie. alfredo sauce. Butter/salt/pepper is just as good!)
-Anything tomato based, except for a small amount of raw tomatoes (I either leave the sauce off and just use butter/olive oil, and I just try to stay away from the recipes that call for tomato sauces).
-Fruit that is acidic, pineapple, oranges, etc. (stick to bananas, apples, and less acidic fruits)
-Anything with vinegar in it, dressings, pickles, etc. (I use ranch or something that has a creamier less acidic base to it for my salads)
-Greasy food (ie. eggs cooked in a bunch of bacon fat, so I cook my eggs in a small amount of olive oil/coconut oil)
-Food with a lot of sugar, candy/milk chocolate (I eat a bit of dark chocolate, and/or a few grain-free desserts.
-Peanut Butter, For a treat I like to have a piece (or two) of dark chocolate with a nut butter. I know that almond butter is better for me, but sometimes I just really WANT peanut butter, but I find that when I’m pregnant it almost always gives me heartburn so I really “try” to avoid it. Sometimes it just calls out to me, and then I take some papaya enzymes with it :)
-Hot Coffee (I drink tea in the morning, cold brew coffee in the afternoon)
-Eating too late (found that if we stay up too late, I tend to get heartburn)
-Getting too hungry, if I snack on healthy food between meals it helps (handful of nuts, carrots, Tbsp of almond butter, etc.)

The great thing is that if I avoid these things, I can avoid the heartburn I’ve experienced in all my previous pregnancies. The weekends have been the hardest, I tend to come “into contact” with some of these foods during the weekends, and I usually pay for it. But it’s nice to know that I have control over whether or not I want to endure the pain! I’m just really hoping that I can maintain this pace throughout my pregnancy, I imagine that as the baby starts to really put on the pounds it will be much harder to avoid, we shall see. Good luck to you!!!

Okay, maybe I’m pregnant and craving chocolate more than usual? But it seems like all the creative stuff I’ve been doing lately, or at least wanting to post about have been  healthy treats that I’ve been making. This one is great with or without the chocolate on top. And it makes up really fairly quickly; under 30 minutes. We ate it while the chocolate on top was still warm and gooey! And I have to add, that the kids have loved every one of the healthy desserts I’ve made for our family. Yesterday nana Joan made banana muffins and Cait said after we finished praying before bedtime, “I loved the ‘cupcakes’ nana Joan made us, they were really good.” :) They were really good! She made the banana bread recipe and put them in cupcake tins, and they turned out delicious!!

These healthy crackers would make a great addition to a ladies tea, or an evening with company, and not too much work for how delicious they turned out! Try different kinds of nuts for other flavors, and experiment with the recipe to make it your own. Enjoy!!

Spiced Chocolate Covered Nut Crackers – Grain Free
Makes 12 crackers

Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp honey

For Topping:
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1 Tbsp Coconut oil or butter

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a food processor or blender, pulse nuts, coconut flakes, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until powdery.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, honey and water. Add wet ingredients to your food processor or blender and blend until a paste forms.

4. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper, dump paste onto paper and gently spread evenly with a spatula. Your rectangle should be approximately 12 x 8 inches.

5. Bake 12-15 minutes until browned but not burnt. Remove from oven and let cool for about 20-30 minutes before using a knife to cut your crackers into squares.

For the Topping:

Put the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds, stir and heat for another 20 seconds, and stir. Continue until all the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. (You could also heat your chocolate in a double boiler on low heat)

Spread chocolate  evenly over the crackers. Once all the chocolate is spread, gently pull crackers apart and set on a plate to be served. Serve with warm chocolate or wait until chocolate has hardened. Either way, it’s a decadent treat! Enjoy :)

I haven’t purchased wheat flour for several months now. When we started this paleo journey a few months ago I still had about 10 lbs of wheat flour in my cupboard, rather than throwing it out like many would suggest, I kept it just in case I needed to make something for my kids. I have actually been surprised how little I have needed it, but my stockpile is wanting, and I’ve been faced with the decision.  Should I just buy some more wheat flour, or should I just learn to go without?

The two things that I used to make on a regular basis were, Whole Wheat Pancakes, and Whole Wheat Cookies. Both are on the “healthier” side of unhealthy ;) These past couple of months I’ve been searching the web, and the new Paleo cookbooks I have, for recipes that will replace these old favorites. It’s hard for me to tell the kids, “you know those really yummy pancakes I used to make, yeah, I’m not going to make those for you anymore.” It just seems wrong. I’ve created an amazing grain free pancake recipe that combined ideas from several different recipes I found online, and these Almond Flour Pancakes are wonderful!! Aidan just a few minutes ago asked me, “were those pancakes you made the other day “paleo pancakes”? When I said yes, he said excitedly, “REALLY?” :)

Last night we had a little break through in the cookie department. I made these cookies, inspired by Joyful Abode and I was, well, we all were very happily impressed with how “unhealthy” they tasted! While still warm these cookies were moist and sweet and had all the components of a really good chocolate chip cookie. So I think I’ve made my decision. I’m NOT going to be buying any more wheat flour, at least not for now. :) I hope you are able to sink your teeth into a bite of these sometime soon! And don’t forget the coffee, or milk to go with it, or them!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Coconut Pecan Cookies-Grain Free!
Makes about 28 small cookies (heaping Tbsp)

Ingredients:

Blend until creamy.
10 Tbsp butter, softened
5 Tbsp raw honey
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

In a separate bowl, mix together.
2 1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp coco powder

Fold in.
1/2 cup chocolate chips (60% dark chocolate or higher)
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease baking sheet or line with parchment. I sprayed with coconut oil spray and it worked great.

2. Drop dough by spoon onto greased baking sheet (mine were about a heaping Tablespoon). They don’t really spread very much so you can put them fairly close together.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 12 minutes or until set. Carefully remove from baking sheet onto a cooling rack. If you can, let cool a bit and enjoy with a cold glass of milk! Or if you are like me, a hot cup of coffee will do :)

This week I’ve been experimenting with a pancake recipe that works for us, and I think I’ve finally got it right! :) The first time I made these I made them with frozen blueberries (that were really big), and the kids didn’t really like the blueberries in the pancakes. I know, what’s wrong with them?! But they love the frozen blueberries on the side, or simmered down into syrup, so I guess I can’t complain! Anyway, I wouldn’t use the frozen blueberries from Costco in this recipe, they are just too big, and make it really hard to flip, use fresh berries or smaller frozen ones.

One thing that I really loved about this recipe is that the banana in there makes them sweet, and you don’t feel the need to add a sugary syrup, and also, they are really pancakey :) These are different than flour pancakes in that they can be a little tricky to flip, here are my little cooking tips: make sure the griddle is good and buttered, keep the temp lower than you would for flour pancakes it will allow for the insides to cook without burning the bottom, before you flip carefully loosen the pancake and make sure the whole pancake is on your spatula, and lastly, make sure you don’t make the pancakes too big, I use a 1/4 cup to measure whereas my whole wheat pancakes can use twice that much batter. Good luck, and enjoy!!

Almond Flour Banana Pancakes
Makes about 26 – 1/4 cup pancakes

Ingredients:
Wet Ingredients
3 ripe bananas, pureed
5 Tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coconut milk (I used the drink in a paper box)
8 eggs, yolks and whites separated

Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Almond Meal/Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Preparation:

1. Start heating pan while you are preparing your batter, you want your pan to be good and hot, I cook mine at a little lower temp than I cook regular flour pancakes as these pancakes take a little longer to cook through. (For more tips on cooking these pancakes, please see “my little cooking tips” up in the second paragraph above:)

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix all the wet ingredients except egg whites. In a separate bowl whip the whites until stiff peaks form, set aside.

3. Mix together dry ingredients, add to wet ingredients. Gently fold in whipped egg whites. Now you are ready to go!

4. Pour batter onto hot buttered griddle, and cook on each side of a couple minutes. I kept the pancakes on a ceramic plate in the warm oven, and made some sausage and eggs to go along with it. I hope you like them as much as we do! They take a bit of time, but they are well worth it on a lazy Saturday morning! Enjoy!

Here’s some of my quail eggs, in the incubator. Going to hatch another batch of chicks this week!!

We try to eat fresh fish once a week, or at least some kind of seafood. As much as I love; olive oil, lemon, dill and salt and pepper, I’m always trying to think of other ways to bake my fish! This marinade has a really nice zippy, fresh flavor, no tartar sauce needed!! I think it’s one of my favorites so far!

Basil-Lime Baked Salmon

Marinade:

1 Tbsp Paleo mayonaise
Small handful of fresh basil, finely minced
Juice of half of one lime
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place salmon fillet on foil, skin side down.
2. Mix all marinade ingredients in a small bowl, slather the fish with marinade and pop into the oven.
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes, test to see if the salmon is done by taking a fork and separating a part of the thickest part of the fillet. If the fish “flakes”, or separates very easily it’s ready. Be careful not to overcook, overcooking the fish will cause the meat to be dry.

Enjoy!!

Having chickens can be a little work but it’s so rewarding to gather these beautiful healthy eggs every day, even in the winter we were gathering a few every day. But I’m so glad when the weather starts to warm up, the days start to get longer, and my ladies start to lay more eggs every day! This year we plan to butcher a bunch of our mixed breed hens and raise about 20+ Plymouth Barred Rocks to breed to our Rhode Island Red rooster, they say they make the best egg layers. Looking forward to a freezer full of good meat this fall!!

I know this isn’t the most amazing picture I’ve ever taken, but the recipe is healthy and it’s amazing homemade dressing! So simply easy to make, and so much cheaper than buying dressing! We go through dressing pretty fast around here, and this one even the kids love!

Lime Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Olive Oil
1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp mustard of choice, we like it spicy
Juice of 1/2 of one lime

Preparation:

Put all ingredients in a jar, put on the lid and shake. Store in refrigerator and shake before serving, oil and vinegar will separate. Enjoy!!

Tomorrow I’m going to post a baked Salmon recipe that you can use the other half of that lime! :)

One of the greatest struggles of motherhood, and fatherhood for that matter, can be getting your kids to eat something other than pasta, cheerios, and cookies :) I say it with a smile but any parent who’s been a parent for very long probably knows that sometimes there aren’t very many smiles at the dinner table when mommy decides to make something a little more healthy than normal. Like fixing green beans for a side dish.

So from our table to yours, here are just a few things I’ve found to work (in some cases) around our toddler, and not so toddler table.

• Start them early, on good stuff! When you let them explore for themselves a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, and healthy  meats, at an early age, they seem to be more excited about trying them.  (Avocado chunks, tomatoes, peeled cucumbers, blueberries, small apple chunks, small pieces of tender meat) Some kids wont eat these things that are not bland grain based food unless they can do it themselves. I’ve found that with Victoria, she will eat lots of healthy fruits and vegetables unless I’m trying to feed her. So I plan to just clean up a good mess knowing that my little girl in the end will have half of it on her clothes and face, but the other half will be in her tummy!
• Feed them the good stuff first. Around our table we usually start with all the super healthy stuff first. Salad, fresh veggies and healthy meats. If I do serve carbs with the meal I give them to the kids afterward (most of the time. This is not a hard and fast rule, but if I know my kids would rather fill up on biscuits then I don’t give them one until I’ve seen that they have eaten most, at least half of their soup or salad first. Kids have self control issues just like adults, and if we put a whole bunch of empty carbs on our tables, guess what they will go for first? The carbs, just like me :)
• Eat at least ONE!  We do have one rule at our table, and that is that whatever it is that I’m serving, my kids will eat at least one of everything. I’m talking about even the littlest ones. Victoria who is 1 1/2 is still a little bit young for this concept but she is also a good eater so I don’t really have to fight with her, but they don’t always come out that way :) This rule applies at home, as well as when we are visiting someone’s house. It’s impolite for our children to say that aunt Olga’s green bean casserole is “yucky” and we have them take a small amount and eat at least a bite of it to try it.
• Serve small portions. I learned this one the hard way. I used to give the kids portions that were too big, based on what I thought they could eat if they were really hungry, or if they really liked what I was making. It looks daunting to a child and they sit there defeated as if you were asking them to climb Mt. Everest. So now I give the kids small portions, ones that I know they can stomach. And I don’t have to tell them, eat six more bites then you can be done. I just tell them, eat it all, I gave you enough to fill your tummy so you wont be hungry.
• Cut down on snacking and sugary treats. Snacking, especially an hour or less before dinner will only make kids less hungry, and you know what happens when you aren’t very hungry and you try to get Johnny to eat his salad? He might just rather go to bed early than eat his salad, because he’s legitimately not very hungry, so he’d rather go without than eat those greens! :) When our kids come to the table with empty tummies, and not snacking on sugary treats (that just make them want more carbs), their eyes and tummies are ready to eat just about anything you put in front of them, and the healthy food literally tastes better!
• Be a good example. If you want little Lucy to eat her beets and like it, then naturally if she sees you or daddy omitting the beets and piling on the mashed potatoes, she’s going to wonder why she has to eat that stuff and not you! Kids are smart, whether we like it or not they do what we do. If you are eating healthy foods and having a second helping of salad, eventually they are going to want to do the same. I love that I have have to continually make a bigger green salad for our dinner table, the kids love it and will take seconds and thirds if there is more in the bowl, and especially if they are not filling up on carbs for dinner.
• Grow some veggies. When I was growing up we always had a very large garden, we could go out and have a snack whenever we wanted all we had to do was pick and rinse. I think this experience gave me a loving connection to fresh vegetables that continues to this day. I want that for my kids too. Growing a garden, however small or great, will give your kids a greater connection to vegetables that will encourage them to eat them, especially as they watch them grow in their own yard!  Even just having one small 4′x4′ planter box of veggies is a great start, and maybe a few potted plants like tomato, blueberries and strawberries is a great way to get started.  Cooking with your kids can also be another great way to get them to want to try what they have “made” for dinner!
• Research your veggies. When we sit around the table, we will often talk about what’s in the food we are eating, I tell the kids what part of their body is growing strong because of this vegetable they are eating. Simplify.  These carrots are making your eyes strong, this fish is making your brain so smart, these beets are making your blood clean and work just right, this kale is making your muscles big. Our kids need a good variety of vegetables, some of them are easier to eat than others, but the more they eat the stronger they will be. I love hearing the kids say while eating their carrots, “I think I can see better now!” And it’s fun to play along with them, I think knowing why it’s good for us, helps to make more sense out of why you are making them eat it!
• Be Patient. This is probably the hardest part. Remember that all of our children are created unique. God made them each differently, and as much as I cant understand why one of my children wouldn’t like shrimp, or strawberries, or oranges, it’s true. It doesn’t mean that I’ve done something wrong, it just means he’s different than I am.  Remember that this is a process, and may take you 18 years, so don’t be discouraged if after a couple of years at it, your child still has a hard time eating cooked broccoli. I tell the kids often stories from my own childhood, how I used to really dislike tomatoes and onions, and my mom made me eat them in my salad anyway. And guess what, eventually I learned to like them, but it took a LONG time. I tell them how every time you eat something you don’t really care for, it’s getting your tastebuds used to those flavors and eventually they will like them.
• Encouragement, Love, and Joy. These are all traits that should be present at your dinner table. When you have a particularly picky eater at your table, these are three things that are usually absent. They need to hear that you are proud that they ate that one bite of their salad. Because to them, it WAS like climbing Mt. Everest. Remember we have learned to do things that we don’t want to do just because we know that it’s good for us, but for a kid it kind of seems ridiculous. WHY? would you eat something you don’t like?! Laughter and love are also extremely important ingredients at the dinner table if you are going to develop children who grow up to be good eaters. Remember you are in it for the long haul. I often encourage my kids, “good job eating that bite of cabbage, one day you will love it!” It assures them that they will grow in this tough area, and that they will one day be like mom and dad who eat ALL their veggies :)
• Be prepared to clean up the vomit. One time I was determined to not back down on that ONE table rule we have, Eamon was going to eat ONE shrimp if it took him all day. Well, he finally did. And right after he got it down, it came back up. Right on the dinner table. Nice.  Be flexible, not all children are created equal. One last thing, remember that one day, you wont have to worry about it anymore. And hopefully when you send your kids away to college they will have a healthy appetite for good food!! Good luck! Would love to hear your stories, both the successes and the failures :)

There are so many other tips out there about how to help encourage kids to eat more healthy foods. But I think one of the biggest ones is limiting unhealthy processed foods. When we eat processed foods, something happens in our brains and we really don’t crave healthy foods, we crave those processed foods, and the thought of eating a salad sounds awful. It’s no different for children, the only difference for them is they don’t have the self discipline some of us adults have acquired. If we limit the processed foods, and offer more and more fresh vegetables and healthy meats, we will slowly start to see a change in what our kids are craving. Reward the kids with healthy treats like apples and peanut butter instead of candy. Good luck, have fun with it, laugh a lot, and don’t take yourself or the process your child is in too seriously! You can do it!! :)

So far during this pregnancy I’ve had one evening when I thought, “hmmm, feels like a bit of heartburn coming on”, and that was consequently after a night of feasting on pasta and bread and other “non-paleo” foods. Is it a coincidence? I really don’t think so. Remember, this isn’t my first or second pregnancy, it’s my seventh :) And I’ve suffered with heartburn with nearly all of them, even my 4th where I didn’t gain very much weight because I was doing the Raw Food Diet, but consuming a lot of fruit, and still eating a small amount of whole grains on a daily basis. I think with that pregnancy I had more heartburn than with any of the other pregnancies.

I think it’s the grains. I don’t even get heartburn when I eat tomato based foods, but I’m not eating that much of them. It will be fun to see how long this lasts, I will do another review when I’m further along. Here’s another neat fact about this paleo diet and pregnancy. I haven’t gained any weight yet, I’m 23 weeks pregnant, and I am still wearing my prepregnancy pants. Feeling fabulous and hopeful that I’m not going to gain 40-70 lbs like I normally do. I’m sure I will gain some at the end though.

Just sharing some thoughts. Would love to hear your thoughts as well, on healthy eating during pregnancy, what little tips have you found to work well from one pregnancy to the next? I can tell you, I have often thought during pregnancy, “WHAT in the world could I do differently to avoid this heartburn, am I eating the wrong things? I’ll do anything!” I think I have found the key, eliminating grains, legumes, and sugars/sweeteners. We’ll see if it works when the baby weighs like 7 lbs more than he does now :)

Another thought – My father-in-law who had suffered from daily heartburn for many years, started eating paleo and within days his heartburn was gone. GONE. He doesn’t have heartburn anymore. No more tums,  after years and years of consuming tums daily. If you’re struggling with daily heartburn, give the paleo lifestyle a try, what can it hurt?